BOOK REVIEW - Global Nollywood: The Transnational Dimensions of an African Video Film Industry

Abstract

This piece is a review of a recent book of essays on Nollywood titled: Global Nollywood: The Transnational Dimensions of an African Video Film Industry edited by Mathias Krings and Onookome Okome, and published in 2013. The review-essay was delivered at a gathering during the second edition of the "Nollywood Conferences" organised by Kwara State University, Malete, Ilorin and convened by Prof. Onookome Okome of the University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada, between the 27th and 30th of November, 2014. The conference, which was themed: African Cinema and the Supernatural, attracted several scholars and authorities on Nollywood, both local and international scholars, including academics from outside the humanities. The review-essay summarizes the ground-breaking essays in this rare collection and also, critically but succinctly addresses the various dynamic dimensions through which Nollywood could be adequately understood. The essay shows how the book delineates and illustrates in great measure, the interesting transformations which Nollywood has undergone in more than twenty years since its emergence, and how it has influenced and contributed to the growth and reputation of African Cinema in the twenty-first century.